Studies in the Bible

Here in Matthew 25, Jesus and His disciples are just about to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. A similar account is also recorded in the Gospel According To Luke (Luke 19:11-27). Both are referred to as the PARABLE OFTHE TALENTS. And by the way, the talents referred to are not the same as the TV show, America’s Got Talent, or from whatever the country you are reading this from. TALENTS in the parable are monetary units. Not really a coin but an ingot, weighing roughly 60-70 pounds and valued in that day $30,000. Seventy-pounds of gold today in the millions.

Bear in mind that Jesus is using a parable to make a point.

What is a PARABLE?

A dictionary definition: “a placing beside”. It signifies “a placing of one thing beside another” with a view to a comparison (some consider that the thought of comparison is not necessarily contained in the word). It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson…” [See Credits]

Just to make another point: Exodus 38:24

[24] All the gold that was used for the work in all the building and furnishing of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, by the shekels of the sanctuary. [AMP]

You can do the math, and it boggles my mind!

And to make a quick side note: Revelations 16:21

[21] And great (excessively oppressive) hailstones, as heavy as a talent [between fifty and sixty pounds], of immense size, fell from the sky on the people…” [AMP]

We have three servants listed in Jesus’ parable, each with different abilities or aptitude. The master prepared to go on a journey, but first, he gave each of the servants a powerful gift, which in fact provided them with unbelievable opportunities to gain in wealth but also to do good among others. After all, this wasn’t just about an opportunity for them.

In verse 15, we read that gifts were given to their ability. The first was given five talents or 375 pounds of gold. The second received two talents or 150 pounds of gold and the third received one talent or 75 pounds of gold.

We all have received blessings from time to time over the years in one form or another. What we’ve done with those blessings is in need of reflection because of what Jesus is trying to get through to us.

The first servant went out and traded up his five talents and now has ten talents. The second servant also doubled his talents to four. The third servant did nothing with his single talent, he buried it to keep it safe.

It’s time for an accounting.

I believe this is such an important point and perhaps the most meaningful in the parable. In verse 15 we read the master “gave” each servant according to his ability.

Now in verse 18, there’s a reference to “his master’s money.” In the first part, there is no instruction or guidelines to reflect anything beyond a GIFT. The why is the master asking for an accounting?

We may be given unrestricted use of God’s gifts, but we do have a responsibility to use them for HIS glory.

To squander them on frivolity, indecency, illegality is something that we’ll have to answer when our Master, The Lord Jesus Christ is going to return. When He does, he will have us account for how we used or misused our blessings/gifts.

“But I only have one talent”

If you were setting the story up for dramatic irony, the guy with one talent should have been the good guy. He would have been faithful with his one little talent and put it to work. But Jesus didn’t go for dramatic irony, he went for what I think is pretty typical.

The guy who didn’t have as much as the other guys, he looked around and said, “I’m going to hold on to what little I’ve got.”

The guys with the five talents and the two talents do what they’re supposed to, They get to work and invest their money, both getting a return. And in both cases, they get the same reward.

You see, the Master didn’t care about the extent of the results, just that there were results. As the results reveal, in both cases the reward is exactly the same:

They can live secure with the knowledge of two things:

Before they had touched a dime, their Master knew they were worthy of His trust.

And, once they were through, their Master was happy that they had been faithful with what had been given to them.

The LAST GUY, the guy with one talent, however, refused to believe that he was capable of doing anything for his Master.

And his reaction isn’t shocking.

When he doesn’t think he’s worthy, he doesn’t think anyone around him is either. He missed out on the fact that his Master thought him worthy to have a talent at all! Frankly, he resented his Master. Why me? Why do I have this thing for him when he didn’t give me the resources to do anything? Never mind that even at one talent, he still has a year’s wages in the bag to play with. His attitude was that these gifts were burdens and tasks rather than resources and opportunities to revel with joy.

And so, he misses out!

The point is pretty simple, I think. Don’t focus on what you don’t have. That’s not important in the grand scheme of things. Focus instead on what you do have!

We’ve been given a golden opportunity.

Jesus will someday return and will want to know what you’ve done with the opportunities. God the Father has sacrificed His Son so that you and I might be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life as servants of His Kingdom. So the question becomes, how are you investing what God has entrusted to you?

SALVATION

Have you shared the Gospel of Christ with anyone?

Have you invested by faith in the things of God?

Have you been a good steward and found ways to increase that which you’ve been entrusted with?

Has your faith grown, or have you put it in a hole in the backyard and covered it up?

Jesus will reward you for increasing that which He has entrusted you with and not the material things alone but more importantly spiritual things.

Our God has put into each one of us the GIFT OF SALVATION so there might be something more to take out. Salvation by its very nature produces a return in you and those around you that’s measurable and that’s rightfully God’s to claim since He put in the seed money which was His Son our Savior Jesus Christ.

By the shedding of His blood, Jesus will rightfully lay claim the Heaven and Earth’s throne as a payment for all the sin of humankind.

By His victory over death Jesus’ resurrection has won for us eternal life and He will be proclaimed the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)

As Christians, let us make the most of this precious opportunity that has been given to us.

Our Jesus is returning and with Him, he will reward you for your faithfulness and stewardship.

Bring to Jesus an increase of your faith and devotions along with a good increase in godly character. Let’s make our King’s treasury rich by risking to invest the great salvation into the lives around us.

I have inserted a video as a conclusion to this study. I hope you’ll view it as a reminder: We all come in different shapes. God made us that way for the best results.

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I am a strong believer in God's Word. John 18:37 JESUS "came into the world to bear witness to the TRUTH". Then He goes on to say that "Everyone who is of the TRUTH [the WORD] hears and listens to My voice." Since I am a friend of the TRUTH and belong to the TRUTH, I hear His voice through the Spirit of Truth; the Holy Spirit. That is the reason I became the WORD detective. To share the TRUTH I find in the Word. Through my experiences as a believer and to find results in our everyday circumstances. I am a TRUTH-SEEKER!